Great British Bake Off Clean Treats (WEEK 5 - PASTRY)

I have a confession to make... in this week's recipes I ended up cheating!

I searched the web for a healthy version of puffed pastry to see if I could use coconut oil rather than buying more butter. I stumbled on one which successfully used coconut oil - HOORAY! I went to the shop to grab the rest of the supplies. In my black jogging bottoms (black FYI is probably the worst colour to wear when baking with flours!) I set up the kitchen with some Spotify hits and got started. I thought that I could just sub the amount of flour used in the recipe with some GF plain flour. The dough was really wet and the coconut oil kept melting every time I handled the mixture. So I added more flour. And then some MORE flour. After butchering this recipe I made some DOPE fillings! Smothered the pastry in my fillings and rolled them up and bunged them into the oven. 

THEY WERE AWFUL! 

They didn't bake properly, they just went brown and tasted like eating warm flour straight off a spoon.

GROSS. 

This made me very sad...

1) I used an obscene amount of coconut oil in the recipe and we all know that stuff ain't cheap!?

2) The fillings were SOOOO good!

In the bin they went.

I sat for ages after, pondering, do I just go buy some butter and try another recipe or give in and buy some pre-made? I gave in. It pretty much costed them same as butter anyway!

I bought some butter pastry - although hefty in fat the ingredients were pretty plain - flour and butter mainly - no sugar or fake butter. What I bought was not gluten free but you can buy Genius' pre-made GF pastry if you are celiac.  

These ones turned out BANGING!

So I do recommend just buying some pre-made - however you can find lots of pastry recipes online if you do want to give this a go...  the next day I found this recipe which looked much better than my attempt! :: http://margaretsdish.com/chocolate-filled-coconut-oil-croissants

COCONUT SUGAR CINNAMON, PECAN AND RAISIN SWIRL

The coconut sugar caramelises into crunchy sweet strips along with juicy raisins and sweet pecans for a taste party in your mouth.

YIELDS 8

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pack of pre-made butter/puff pastry or follow recipe in link above
• 1/2 cup of coconut sugar
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

FILLING

• 1 scoop of protein powder (I used My Protein Cinnamon Danish) 
• 2 tbsp of water
• Toffee flavour drops (add to taste - I used about 8-10)
• 5 tbsp of raisins
• 5 tbsp of chopped pecans
• Homemade sugar-free icing 

TOPPING

• 2 tbsp vanilla protein
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp sugar free icing

METHOD

First make the filling. In a medium sized bowl add the coconut sugar, coconut oil, protein powder, water,  toffee drops, raisins and pecans and mix till you get a sticky paste- add more water if needed.

Pre-heat the oven to 200'C. Unroll the pastry and spread your filling to the edges of the pasty with a spatula --leave some for topping afterwards-- and carefully roll in the dough back into the shape it was. (Keep parchment paper underneath and use it to roll it back up but not into the mix). Chop the dough into 8 pieces. Roll and lengthen each piece using your hand into long ropes and shape into swirls.  Bake for 20-25 minutes till golden brown.

Once cooled mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl and drizzle over with the leftover filling. 

I did half cinnamon and half Nutella :P

HEALTHY NUTELLA FILLING

For added protein follow recipe steps on link above and add 2 scoops of chocolate protein along with extra water if needed.  Repeat the same steps above for handling the dough and replace with Nutella filling instead and some sprinkled roasted hazelnuts on top. 

Dust with icing sugar to serve.

CHERRY BAKEWELL TART

I LOVE cherry bakewell so I had to use this excuse to make it!  If however, you prefer to replicated Mary's raspberry tart then follow instructions below this recipe.

Yeilds 8-10

INGREDEINTS

CHERRY JAM

• 2 cups cherries
• 1 tbsp agave
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

PIE CRUST

• 1 + 1/2 cups raw cashews
• 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 scoops protein
• 1/4 cup agave
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 2 tbsp smooth almond butter

FRANGIPANE

• 4 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp agave
• 2 egsg
• 120g ground almonds
• Pinch of salt

TOPPING

• Homemade sugar-free icing 
• 2 tbsp flaked almonds
• A couple cherries to serve

METHOD

First make the jam so that it has a little time to cool. In a sauce pan cook the fruit on a low heat until it starts to break down. Add the lemon juice and syrup and mash the fruits leaving it as smooth or as chunky as you like. Take off the heat and pour in the chia seeds. Mix them into the jam and leave to set.

Next pre-heat the over to 180'C. Add all the pie crust ingredients to a high speed blender/food processor and blend until it becomes doughey. Remove from the blender and lay in a pie tray. Evenly spread the crust in the pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. 

While the crust is in the oven begin to make the frangipane. Beat all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. 

Remove the pie crust from the oven and add the jam. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes before topping with frangipane. This was enough to fill the center of the pie but not reach the sides.  Put back in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes till the frangipane becomes golden brown. 

Allow the pie to cool then top with icing, flaked almonds and extra cherries.

----To make raspberry tart featured on show, replace cherries with raspberries and skip out on the flaked almond topping with pink feathered icing instead.

METHOD:

' Spoon the pink icing into a small piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle. When the tart has cooled completely, spoon the white icing on top and spread to form a smooth surface. Pipe parallel lines of pink icing over the white icing, then drag a cocktail stick through the lines (at a 90 degree angle to the lines) to create a feathered effect. Leave to set, then serve in slices.' (Mary's Bakewell Tart)